Every year, golf is graced with a wide variety of incredible tournaments to keep us at the edge of our seats but none quite as much as the four major tournaments; The U.S Open, The (British) Open, The PGA Championship and, of course, The Masters. With so many details about all four starting to leak out, keeping your eye on each can be a struggle which is why we’re here to put together a simple preview into what you can expect from the 2019 Masters from what we currently know. Read on to find out for yourself.
The Masters Tournament
As one of the biggest tournaments in the sport, the golf U.S Masters had been up and running since as early as 1934. This 84-year-old tournament is part of three major tours too, including the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the Japan Golf Tour and for this reason, it’s easy to see just why it’s such a prestigious event in the eyes of players and fans alike. This tournament sees golfers putting it out to reach the all-important top spot and get their hands on the much sought-after green jacket.
This event is invitational only so while it is a part of the three major tours in a golf year, it also has one of the smallest pots of players with just 90-100 taking place is any one season. As a result, we often see the same players taking part year on year, with leading competitors like big name Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and a wealth of other international players from across the globe all competing against one another during a single week in April. Good weather, a stunning course and some world-class golf is what can be expected here – but what about 2019 in particular?
The Players
Despite the smaller number of players involved in these tournaments (compared to the normal average of around 140), The Masters certainly gives us plenty to enjoy regardless. To make it even more interesting, online sportsbooks have figured out a way for golf bettors to get so much action that they almost couldn’t digest it all. Not only this week-long event is filled with some of the best players in the industry, all putting and swinging for the top spot in a game, but bookies keep things exciting by offering every type of proposition you could imagine. You can wager on the winning player as well as on names to make it to top 5 or top 10. But who is actually likely to make it to the field?
Whether a fan of golf or not, you can’t go through life without having heard the name Tiger Woods. As one of the most successful golfers of all time, Woods has quickly become one of the most popular sportsmen of his time too, with four Masters Championships to his name and a rather large handful of world records.
Will Tiger Break Jack’s record? I might break your jaw if you ask that question one more time…
He might be one of the wealthiest golfers, but he’s also one of the best and while he hasn’t had any huge wins in recent years, the potential is still there and we’re eager to see what happens next.
At 29 compared to Woods’ 42, McIlroy is certainly a younger player than Woods but he’s quickly proving to be one of the best. Without a Masters title to his name, his invitation relies solely on his skill and rightly so. While he hasn’t been successful yet in terms of this particular tournament, his performance in the PGA and European Tours isn’t something to be ignored. He’s likely to make his way to the golf course in Augusta in 2019, and we’re eager to see whether he can win his first Masters trophy.
Last year’s winner, Patrick Reed, is pretty much guaranteed a place at this year’s competition and we’re excited to see him take to the field again with aggressive shots and well-placed swings. After battling against McIlroy, Fowler and Spieth in a nail-biting final round, his final shots took him to green jacket victory. Considering that this win pulled him right up to no. 11 in the world and gave him a tidy $1.98 million prize fund to take home, we can imagine he’s eager to give winning a second go.
Rickie Fowler is another player expected to be gracing the field this month. While he, like McIlroy, hasn’t come to win any Masters jackets just yet, he went on to prove himself in the 2018 tournament as someone worthy of being taken seriously. Nearly beating out Reed to the winning spot, his ‘no wins’ could easily have become ‘Masters Champion’. For that reason, it’s likely that we’ll see him invited to the 2019 season come April.
The Course
Made up of 18 holes, namely the Par-3 course that makes up the tournament of the same name on the Wednesday of the competition, the Augusta course used for the Masters was originally built just a year before the tournament was established. Since its conception, the course has undergone years of upkeep, renovations of the shapes of the courses in some cases and more, but still retains a unique beauty that makes the Masters such a pleasant event to attend.
The course layout is as follows:
|
Hole |
Name |
Par |
Yards |
|
1 |
Tea Olive |
4 |
445 |
|
2 |
Pink Dogwood |
5 |
575 |
|
3 |
Flowering Peach |
4 |
350 |
|
4 |
Flowering Crab Apple |
3 |
240 |
|
5 |
Magnolia |
4 |
455 |
|
6 |
Juniper |
3 |
180 |
|
7 |
Pampas |
4 |
450 |
|
8 |
Yellow Jasmine |
5 |
570 |
|
9 |
Carolina Cherry |
4 |
460 |
|
Hole |
Name |
Par |
Yards |
|
10 |
Camellia |
4 |
495 |
|
11 |
White Dogwood |
4 |
505 |
|
12 |
Golden Bell |
3 |
155 |
|
13 |
Azalea |
5 |
510 |
|
14 |
Chinese Fir |
4 |
440 |
|
15 |
Firethorn |
5 |
530 |
|
16 |
Redbud |
3 |
170 |
|
17 |
Nandina |
4 |
440 |
|
18 |
Holly |
4 |
465 |
Final Thoughts
Every year, The Masters proves to be an exciting tournament for players and fans alike. Whether you’re one of the few who managed to get tickets before the June deadline, or you’re planning on watching from the comfort of your living room, make sure to keep an eye out as more and more details are released as to who’s playing and just what you’re likely to see during 2019’s tournament.
Dustin Johnson
World number one Dustin Johnson heads to Pacific Pallisades this week to defend the Genesis Open title that he won by five strokes last year. Riviera is perfectly suited to Johnson’s game, thanks to his phenomenal power off the tee, and he has achieved T4 finishes in each of the last four years. Recent winners include Bubba Watson (twice) and James Hahn, both hit ferocious distances, so it is a course geared up for bombers. But the field is strong and deep, the presence of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy means four of the world’s top eight will be in the mix.
Watson, meanwhile, will be hoping for a strong comeback after having the worst year of his career in 2017. He missed the cut in three of the four majors and has not won a tournament since 2016, sending him plummeting down to 117 in the world rankings. Riviera is the perfect setting to launch his return to greatness as the two-time Masters winner claimed victory here in 2014 and again in 2016, when he was ranked second in the world. If he can rediscover his magic touch around the greens he will be a force to be reckoned with, but that is a big if.
Phil Mickelson
Another man hoping for a return to glory is crowd favorite Phil Mickelson, who is now 47 years old and has not won since 2013. He has come mighty close on several occasions, and remains a magnificently talented player, but if he is to force his way into Ryder Cup contention he needs to secure a victory somewhere along the line. He won here in 2008 and 2009 and finished runner-up in 2012, so it is as good a place as any to return to the summit once again.
And then there is Mickelson’s old nemesis Tiger Woods, who will dominate headlines in the build-up to the tournament. He finished T23 on his return to action in the Farmers Insurance Open last month, and said he is looking forward to hosting and playing at the Genesis Open this week. After a long injury layoff, fans will be eager to see if he can recapture the sort of form that led him to eclipse Mickelson and hold down number one spot in the world rankings for many years.
But right now, it is the elite men that head the betting, and deservedly so. Make sure to look at Betonline for odds on the event, and you will see that Johnson is the clear favorite heading into the tournament. His record at Riviera is amazing: he won last year, finished runner-up in 2014 and lost a playoff in 2015. Last year, his five-stroke win catapulted him to the top of the world rankings and he consolidated his place by winning his next two tournaments, the WGC Mexico Championship and the WGC Dell Technologies Matchplay. He was the clear favorite heading into the Masters, only to fall down the stairs and find himself ruled out due to injury. But he has maintained his number one ranking, despite the ascent of Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm and the return to greatness of Jordan Spieth.
Riviera is a second shot test, where precision on approach is paramount to success. Spieth will be a danger here as he is turning a corner on greens and has three T25 finishes in five appearances at Riviera. He needs a win ahead of The Masters and will be going all out for victory. Thomas never knows when he is beaten, while McIlroy can win anywhere and has made a strong start to 2018, but right now Johnson is the man to beat.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
